When It Comes Down To It
by Sunaia
Summary: Another Dimitri left Rose for Tasha story. Rose's life is perfect, she gets to take care of her daughters and gets to guard Lissa. But that all changes when Dimitri returns. What is Rose going to do? First fanfiction.
1. Prologue

**This is my first fanfiction. So, please be nice. Sorry about any mistakes.**

**In the story, it takes place after the cabin. There was no Strigoi attack and by default Dimitri is still dhampir. **

**Oh, and I don't own anything, it all belongs to Richelle Mead.**

Prologue

My hair flapped wildly as I turned the last bend of the track. Finally, I finished my thirtieth lap. I was furious. How could Dimitri just get up and leave me like this? It just wasn't fair.

I stormed into the gym, my good habits I learned from Dimitri never forgotten, and began to punch viciously at the lone punching bag from the ceiling.

I returned to my previous thoughts about Dimitri. I thought he loved me, but I guess it was a whole lot of bull. He was no better than a Moroi with all the leaving the female dhampirs alone when they are pregnant. Yes, you heard me pregnant. I, Rose Hathaway, am pregnant and my friends have no idea... for now.

I let out a huge sigh and stepped back from the punching bag. I think beating the bag to a pulp actually works at getting out anger. Forget anger management, I'm all for punching bags now, even though right now I think I'd rather replace the punching bag with Dimitri.

Just then I realized how close I was to crying. I blinked back the tears, determined not to let my reputation as a badass go to waste.

* * *

I was sitting in my room staring gloomily at the wall. Supper had been horrible. I couldn't bear to talk to anyone, terrified I might break down in tears. I think my destiny is to be miserable for the rest of my life, but I pray, yes pray, that it won't be like that for my new son or daughter.

"Knock! Knock! Knock!"

I jumped, nearly falling off my bed onto the floor. Then, I realized that it was Lissa. I knew she was going to pop by sooner or later. But, I was hoping it was going to be later.

Lissa opened the door and walked over to me. "Are you ok? You weren't yourself at supper tonight."

"I'm fine, Liss," I replied, avoiding her gaze. But, I should have known better, because she saw right through that. Well, not that it was that hard, after all, I wasn't even looking her in the eyes.

She narrowed her eyes, and I could feel her curiosity through the bond. "Rose, what's wrong?"

I sighed, trying to think of a way to buy me time before answering her. "Do you really want to know?"

"Stop stalling, Rose."

Damn, that girl knew me so well. "Fine. Well, you know how Dimitri just left to guard Tasha?"

Lissa nodded. So, I continued telling her the story about how we fell in love. Everything from the lust charm, all the way to when he told me he was leaving. Lissa listened intently, gasping and consoling me at all the right parts. "But, do you want to know the worst part, Lissa. He left me pregnant."

Lissa's jaw dropped. "Are you serious!"

I gave her a half smile. "I'm not kidding." I looked away staring at the door.

"This is great! I'm going to be an aunty. We have a lot of things to buy." Lissa ticked things off on her fingers, everything from diapers to pyjamas to cradles.

I laughed. "Relax! The baby isn't born yet."

**So, what do you think? Should I continue?**


	2. Chapter 1

**This chapter took forever. Well, anyway, I hope you like it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Academy.**

Chapter 1

4 years later

"Rose, can you get the door please?" Lissa screeched at me. Honestly, I couldn't wait for her pregnancy to be over. She was scarier pregnant then when she was being controlled by the darkness. Nothing like being yelled at by a crazy, darkness controlled, pregnant women early in the morning.

"Alright, Liss, I'm on it," I replied, then yanked open the door. I probably should've been more careful, in case it was a Strigoi, but I wasn't too worried.

Adrian and his girlfriend, Calista Zeklos were the people I found standing behind the door. Calista, or Callie as she preferred being called, is really nice and I enjoy her company. I am so happy that Adrian finally found somebody; actually I think I'm happier he's stopped flirting with me.

"Hey Rose, is Lissa here?" Callie asked.

"Yeah, but watch out, she's really grumpy today."

Callie nodded then entered, off in search of Lissa. Adrian sent me a smile. "And how is my little dhampir doing this morning?"

I didn't respond, well not with words, I had actually rolled my eyes. "Well I was attacked by the twins, then I was screeched at by Lissa, and now I'm speaking to the biggest nitwit in the entire universe."

Adrian raised an eyebrow. "I can see being the biggest nitwit in the world, but the universe, I think you tale that vote."

"That doesn't really make any sense. How can I be the stupidest person – dhampir –in this universe but not the stupidest in the world, don't they go hand in hand?"

Before Adrian could reply, Christian came out tugging Bryer and Cameryn. "I wouldn't want to interrupt such an important conversation, but we have to get going. So, Rose, take your little hoodlums and put them in the car. Also, Lissa said to tell you that Brett, and, Logan, are coming." Christian quickly returned into the house, leaving behind the twins.

"I can't wait to go shopping, is Uncle Addie going to buy us something?" Cameryn asked. She was jumping up and down in an excited manner.

I gave her a sharp look. "You're not supposed to convince Adrian to buy you stuff, you know that, and we're going shopping for your new cousin."

Cameryn frowned and stuck the bottom of her lip out in a pout. "Sure."

Bryer stepped forward and leaned into her sister's ear. She whispered something softly to her and they both scampered off to the house. Leaving, before I had a chance to buckle them into the car. Oh well!

Beep! Beep! Beep!

I nearly jumped out of my skin when the most pathetic car horn made itself known to the world. Checking over my shoulder I spotted the guardians Lissa had arranged for our shopping trip.

XXX

Finally all of us were packed into the vehicles. Brett was driving the first car, which included Christian, the twins, Lissa, and I. In the other car, with Logan behind the wheel, were Adrian, Eddie, Callie, and Mia. Eddie and Mia had decided that they should take their good sweet time getting here; they were so slow I thought Lissa might have given birth by then. Well, actually Lissa still had a month to go...

"Look at the cows! Did you know that giraffes can't cough?" Bryer said gleefully. I couldn't help but hold back a laugh. Bryer always had the most useless facts buried deep in her brain.

"Bryer, those are cows," said Cameryn, drawing out the word cow very slowly. "What do cows have to do with giraffes?"

The only response Cameryn got was a small shrug.

For the rest of the car ride, I thought of my daughters. There was Bryer, who contained more knowledge than kids twice her age. And Cameryn, who had a ferocious temper, but was so persuasive, you just had to agree with her. The twins both looked like me, except for the eyes and a few more facial features. Regardless, how alike the girls were, their attitudes were completely different. Bryer was patient, and rarely got angry, but she had a tendency to become very passionate about the environment. If she wasn't destined to become a guardian, she would've definitely become an activist. Cameryn, on the other hand, was a lot more like me. She had a sharp tongue and plenty of wit to boot. Despite their differences, the duo fought side by side. It was comforting to know that they would always have each other.

"Rose, we're here," Lissa said snapping her fingers in front of my face, waking me out of my reverie.

I looked around. "I thought we were going to the other mall."

Lissa smirked. "Wow. You really were out of it. Logan got a call, saying that there had been a Strigoi attack near that mall, so we decided to come here instead."

I looked around. Bryer and Cameryn were absentmindedly kicking a rock back and forth. Brett was locking up the cars. The others were all ready to start some shopping.

Once inside the mall, we decided to split into two groups. The guys, Christian, Adrian, Logan, and Brett, didn't really want to go shopping for baby clothes, so they became one group.

"Can I go with them too?" Cameryn asked. I looked at her, knowing that if she went with the guys, the next time I'd see her she'd be packing more toys then you would find in the common "Toys'R'Us".

"You can go, but no gifts," I replied.

After we had split up, Lissa charged off to the first baby store. She flicked quickly through the clothes quickly.

"Do you like this one?" Lissa asked me, holding up yellow pyjamas.

"I think they're cute." I didn't really know what to think.

The rest of the day went by quickly. It was like a game of cat and mouse, Lissa would ask me what I liked and I could only shrug, after all Lissa had done all the shopping for me when I was pregnant.

We met the guys at the cars and piled in, eager to get home before nightfall.

XXX

It was late by the time we had gotten home, so I tucked Bryer and Cameryn in as soon as we were home.

Ring! Ring! Ring!

I rolled my eyes. Of course the phone would have to ring as soon as my daughters were to fall asleep. As I was walking down the stairs, I couldn't help but overhear Lissa talking on the phone.

"Are you sure? ... But, what if ... Alright then. See you soon." Lissa hung up the phone and she seems to just deflate. I checked the bond. I found worry and sympathy... for me.

"How am I going to tell her?" Lissa said softly.

Tell me what?

**Did you like this chapter?**


	3. Chapter 2

**Well, I hope you like it. You have to tell me what you think.  
Disclaimer: I never have and never will own Vampire Academy. **

When It Comes Down To It

Chapter 2

My first thought was to immediately charge down the stairs but I held back, for unknown reasons. I spent a good two seconds thinking about it before coming to my conclusion. I leapt over the last few steps, something I would never let Bryer and Cameryn do, and swung around the corner ready to make my grand entrance.

"What did you...?"

I stopped. Lissa was nowhere to be seen. I guess she had gone off to bed. I exhaled deeply. There was nothing much I could do now and I couldn't exactly bring it up tomorrow because then Lissa would know I'd been eavesdropping. I mean she dislikes the bond for my ability to go into her head as much as it is, so she gets really mad if I eavesdrop more willingly. One reason I try, emphasis on try, to not get sucked into her head. I guess the only thing to do now was go get some sleep.

XXX

The next morning (night if you're human) I woke up to the giggling face of Cameryn.

"You snore!" she gasped after regaining her breath, only to break out in laughter yet again.

I shook my head in exasperation. "Well, you're ticklish," I replied and began to tickle Cameryn.

"Mommy, stop!" she cried. But, I only continued tickling her even more. Eventually, I stopped, more or less because I was getting hungry and I could smell food downstairs.

"Come on, let's go get some breakfast," I told her, holding out my hand. We walked down the stairs, smiles plastered on our faces.

"You two look happy," said Lissa. "Do you want some pancakes?"

Cameryn nodded and eagerly jumped into a chair.

I looked around the room, searching for Bryer. She was cutting some pictures out of a magazine and gluing them onto a page. Sometimes, I couldn't understand this child.

As I took my seat, I checked the bond wanting to see if I could find anything about last night's phone call. I found nada, zip, nil, zilch.

"So, what are everyone's plans for today?" Lissa asked breaking the silence.

I could feel Lissa sending me a message that she and Christian wanted the day to themselves, so I racked my brain for ideas to get me and the twins out of the house.

"I think that I'm going to go to the gym today. What do you think, Cam? What about you, Bry?" It was the only thing I could think of and anyway I've been feeling like going to the gym lately.

"I love going to the gym!" shouted Cameryn.

I smiled. "Inside voice, Cameryn," I scolded her gently. Cameryn just shrugged.

"We'll head out as soon as breakfast is done," I told Lissa.

"Thanks," she replied quietly.

With that settled, I began relentlessly shoving pancakes into my mouth. Breakfast was finished in no time.

XXX

"Are you two ready to go?" I asked. Bryer was pulling a sweater over her head with great difficulty and I couldn't but laugh.

"Mommy, you're not supposed to laugh at me! I need help," protested Bryer.

I reached over and pulled the sweater down.

"Let's go, then."

I'd had decided to walk there. We walked fast, so we got there pretty quickly. I entered the gym and looked around, feeling at home. There were about five other guardians in the building. I recognized Guardian Peter Henkel and Guardian Oliver Jefferson. The other 3 were ones I've never met.

"Hey Rose!" Peter welcomed me with a nod, and then turned to face one of the other guardians obviously they were partaking in a sparring match.

I would've liked to stop and watch the sparring match but my daughters had other ideas in mind. They had already dashed over to some of the sparring mats and had turned them into trampolines. "Girls, what do you think you're doing?"

"Jumping! Jumping, jumping, jumping!" They both cried in rapid succession. I rolled my eyes and then entered the supply closet searching for a timer, so I could time my laps.

I looked around, seeing mats, weights, and other random junk. I whistled. I guess dhampirs weren`t really in the business for cleaning. Snatching up the timer, I tied it around my wrist.

Before stepping onto the track, I looked over my shoulder to ensure that Bryer and Cameryn were okay. They were both giggling uncontrollably, at Oliver, should`ve known because from what I've gathered, Oliver was a comedian part-time.

With a snort, I stepped onto the track and readied myself to run. I took off quickly and kept up a good pace. I finished the 30 laps, something I've been doing ever since Dimitri left me, and returned into the gym, eager to kick some guardian ass.

One of the guardians I didn't recognize nodded at me.

Peter turned to look where he was looking. "Oh, Rose, why don't you spare with Anton here?" he suggested, giving, the man I assumed was Anton, a hard push forward.

"Peter, if she doesn't want to. She probably has something better to do," Anton complained. He looked really uncomfortable. I hoped I wasn't scaring him.

"Relax, she one of the only people here who could actually be a challenge to you," Peter replied. I frowned and looked at Anton. There was no way that he could actually be a challenge. He looked really insecure and nervous. I guess there was no harm in sparring with him. "Come on Anton! Mommy won't hurt you that bad," Cameryn encouraged, her eyes were wide and she looked bright with excitement. It wasn't often she got to see a sparring match, especially one involving me.

I sent Anton a lazy smile. "You can't be scared that you'll get beat by a girl?"

"Fine, then a sparring match you want a sparring match you're going to get."

He moved into an offensive stance, and suddenly he didn't look so helpless anymore. His face had taken one of determination and he looked almost deadly. Well, I thought I guess he wasn't a guardian for nothing.

I quickly imitated him. Just as I was wondering who was going to make the first move, he sent his fist flying for my shoulder. I moved quickly and deflected it. For awhile, that was all that happened, one of us punched, the other deflected it. Finally, he broke through sending a kick into my hip. I staggered; the force behind the kick was like getting hit by a truck. He tackled me with his shoulder, sending me tumbling to the ground. He pinned me down, but being me, I wasn't going to stay down for long. I used my knee and nailed Anton in the stomach with as much force as I could put into it. He flinched, but just barely. Fortunately, it was enough for me to get the upper hand. I flipped him over, onto his back and quickly pretended to stake him.

I rose to my feet and looked around. Everybody was speechless, even Cameryn. "I didn't grow a tail or something, right?" I asked, checking over my shoulder to make sure I really hadn't.

"Of course not. That's ridiculous," Bryer said, her voice serious.

"Well, then what is it? Why are you all so quiet?"

My answer came from Peter. "It's not often somebody beats Anton in a sparring match."

"Same for me," I smirked. "So, anyway, I'm Rose Hathaway."

Anton held out his hand. "Anton Hathaway."

**Did you like it? I think I like this chapter the best so far.**

**Don't forget to tell me what you think.**


	4. Chapter 3

**I was really bored today so I wrote this chapter.**

**This is my longest chapter. I always knew my chapters were short so I tried harder to lengthen this one. Anyway, I hope you like it.**

**PS: I can't remember if I mentioned this in the story so far but Lissa is the Moroi Queen, even if it doesn't seem like it.**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Vampire Academy.**

When It Comes Down To It Chapter 3

"Hathaway!" I spluttered. This guy couldn't be related to me, not that I could think if a reason why he couldn't be but it had to be impossible. Who could he be, my brother? I highly doubt it. My mom didn't want one kid to begin with...

"Oh man," Anton said, pulling me out of my rant. "I thought you knew." He sent an anxious glance at Peter.

I put my hands on my head and heaved a huge sigh. "Bryer, Cameryn. Why don't you go play over there?"

Bryer scampered away, meanwhile Cameryn opened her mouth to complain, but I efficiently halted her with a glare. They both knew not to mess with me when I sent them a glare, so I tried desperately to not use it around them.

When they were gone, I studied Anton. He was tallish with brown hair and dark brown eyes. He was kind of handsome. He reminded me of somebody. Who was it? I racked my brain, trying to remember.

Finally, I asked the question that I hoped would satisfy my curiosity. "Tell me, who are you?"

"Why don't I show who instead?"

"How can you show me who you are?" I replied coldly, looking him in the eye. I couldn't help but be defensive. A guy showing up and saying he was my relative was a bit suspicious. My mother would've told me, even if we aren't exactly on what people call speaking terms.

Anton raised an eyebrow, a task I have never acquired, almost emphasizing the fact we couldn't be related. "I have someone I want you to meet," Anton replied. "Come on."

I hesitated but I honestly don't think I had the need to be scared of Anton so I reluctantly followed. "My daughters are coming with me. Bryer! Cameryn!"

All four of us headed out, Anton in the lead. He swerved to the right heading to the guardian building. "Where are we going, Mommy?"

I was surprised to find that it was Bryer who had spoken. "I'm not sure, sweetheart. Why don't you ask Anton?" I attempted to mask the tightness in my voice, for my children's sake. I exhaled deeply, and then I realized I've been doing quite a bit of sighing within the past few days.

"Where are we going, Anton?" Bryer asked, turning to Anton.

Anton smiled at her and patted her head softly, "You'll see."

I wasn't really sure why but those actions just really got to me. I could feel my anger boiling over and I think I was about to blow my top. Scratch that, I am going to explode. "Why can't you just answer her! She's 4 years old! She doesn't need all this vagueness!" I felt like swearing and attacking him but managed – barely – to restrain myself.

Anton seemed surprised by this outburst so he quickly grabbed my wrists and held me tightly. I fought him, but by now I was an expert at fighting the darkness that came with spirit. I rapidly overcame it. I pushed Anton away. "I'm fine." Yeah, I thought, I was fine, but the darkness only came like that when Lissa was furious or terrified. I checked the bond and I was immediately sucked into her head.

"What do you mean you're here to check up on Rose!" Lissa screeched angrily, sending spittle into my mother's face. I felt a surge of pride towards Lissa. She wasn't one to yell often, except when she is pregnant.

My _mother_ wiped the spit out of her face then proceeded to speak. "She's my daughter, Princess; I can do as I please. And don't get me wrong I've been observing Rose for a long time."

I couldn't help but feel unnerved by this statement and I could feel that Lissa felt the exact same way. Lissa narrowed her eyes. "The moment you left her, when she desperately needed you, you gave up the right to be called her mother. What gives you the right to stalk her?"

"I was not stalking her. I was simply keeping my eye on her."

Lissa's anger spiked. "It's the same thing! Rose doesn't need you, just leave her alone!"

I bit my lip, Lissa was getting really angry. I stiffened then sucked the darkness right out of her. And with that the fight seemed to go out of Lissa, she was still angry but she couldn't think of anything else to say.

Meanwhile, Janine had closed her eyes. She looked deep in thought. "Please Princess Vasilisa, let me speak to Rose, she needs to meet some people."

Lissa tensed. What if she said the wrong thing? Would Rose hate me if I said yes? What about if I said no? These thoughts flew through Lissa's head at a rate a thousand kilometres per minute. "You may talk to her Guardian Hathaway." I watched as my mother took out a cell phone and began an inaudible conversation. I took this as my cue to leave.

I pulled myself out of her head and came face to face with Cameryn. "Is Aunt Lissy okay?"

"She's fine." I was pretty sure that Janine wasn't going to hurt her. Even if she hated me, she would never hurt Lissa.

"If you're sure your fine, then let's go get my... friend, then we head off to the estate of Princess Vasilisa," Anton said. I looked at him and watched as he returned a cellphone into his back pocket.

Shortly after, we were in the guardian building and standing in front of a door. Anton raised his fist to the door and knocked lightly.

The door flew open and standing in front of me was a woman. She looked to be in her late twenties. She had straight blonde hair that fell just past her shoulders and big blue eyes. She was wearing a light green t-shirt and baggy shorts. "Hey, Anton. What brings you here?"

"Louise, this is Rose. We have to go, now." Anton answered.

"Okay, sure," she said. Louise stepped out of her room. "Oh, who are these little angels?" I followed Louise's gaze which stopped on the twins.

"I'm Cameryn and this is my twin sister Bryer." I held back a chuckle. Cameryn loved pointing out the fact that they were twins, even though it was obvious because they both looked alike.

"I love your names. I am called Louise, but you can call me Lou."

I nodded and continued on my way towards Lissa's house, remembering that they said this was our destination. On the way there, I looked back and forth between Anton and Lou. The two looked alike in facial features, not exactly the same hair and eye colour, but otherwise I would say that they are siblings.

"So, are you two brother and sister?" I eventually asked Anton. He didn't reply right away, so while I waited I watched as Bryer and Cameryn explained their life story to Lou. Lou listened patiently and I couldn't help but admire her. From what I've seen, she was nice, caring, and patient.

"Yes, we're siblings," Anton said.

"You're not much of a talker are you?" I said jokingly, but Anton only gave me a forced smile.

I frowned and sped up. I preferred listening to the others loud and unneeded chatter, then his quiet and uncomfortable silence.

We arrived home fairly quickly and during that time Lou had learned almost all the things you would need to know about the twins, actually it was mostly just Cameryn's life story that Louise had learned about.

I unlocked the door and nearly ran into Lissa. Lissa's eyes widened when she saw the two other dhampirs so Christian stepped forward and placed his hand on her shoulder comfortingly.

"Its fine, Liss. This is Anton and Louise." I told her, but she didn't seem perturbed that there were strangers in her house. She only seemed adamant to tell me one thing, _Janine is here._

I nodded and readied myself for an argument. "Girls, go upstairs and clean your rooms, please." I followed the order with a glare, to ensure their agreement. As I watched as they climbed the stairs, I heard a small cough. Turning to find the origin of the cough, I came face to face with my mother.

She gave me a smile and for once she actually looked apologetic. "Can I talk to you in private?"

"Fine." I replied against my better judgement.

I followed her into the front room. The room was one of my favourite. The furniture was fresh and crisp and the room had a good source of light even if I was usually sleeping whenever the sun was out.

"I'm sorry, Rose. Can you ever forgive me?"

"Why should I forgive you? You pushed me away. I had actually thought you might have helped me."

"Please, just hear me out, I did what I did because I was just so upset that you would throw away your whole career as a guardian to become a bloodwhore. I thought you were going to live up to the Hathaway name."

I opened my mouth then snapped it shut. "What do you mean?"

"My mother is strict. She thinks that being a guardian is for the men and that all female dhampirs are to be bloodwhores. I refused, so she disowned me. My sister meanwhile agreed to my mother's wishes. She gave birth to Louise and then Anton. When I was pregnant, my mother wanted me back thinking that I had given up the life of a guardian. I refused to listen to her yet again and gave birth to you. I cut off all ties from my family, including my sister and niece and nephew for your sake. I didn't you to be like them."

"If you cut off all ties, how come Louise and Anton are here?"

My mother smiled. "Louise contacted me after her graduation. She had become a guardian as well. So, I took her under my wing. I was upset with you when you were pregnant because it reminded me so much of my sister. She hadn't wanted to become what she is now. Amber had wanted to be a guardian, but she refused to disappoint our mother."

I looked away. I almost felt bad for my mother. But, I couldn't believe it had taken her this long to tell me why she did what she did. I shrugged. "Do you miss your sister?" I asked.

My mother smiled, not a happy one. "Yes, I've been trying to contact her."

I leaned back into my chair and looked my mother in the eye. "I forgive you, as long as you promise to be a part of the girl's lives."

Janine smiled. "Of course. I had always hoped to have grandchildren."

I returned her smile and then stood up. "I'm going to go catch up with my cousins. Your grandchildren are upstairs cleaning their room." With that I left my mother standing in the room to check on Lissa. I was worried the darkness from her argument with my mother would affect her, especially with her pregnant and all.

Although, I don't think I had anything to worry about because when I walked into the kitchen Lissa was chatting up a storm with Louise and Anton. Christian was nearby, sticking a pan of chicken into the oven.

"I see you've met my cousins, Liss," I said as I approached them.

"Oh, yeah sure," Lissa said quickly, too quickly.

"When did you meet them?" I asked.

Lissa's face turned red. "I'm sorry Rose. But I talked to them on the phone yesterday so I sort of knew they were coming and..."

I laughed. Lissa was nervous, afraid that I would be mad. "It's okay. I can't be mad at you." I turned around and looked at Anton. "Is that why you thought I would know?"

He just nodded and then turned his attention to the brightening sky. "We should be getting back. I have an early shift tomorrow morning." None of us really had a chance to reply because by the time he had finished speaking he was already out the door.

"I guess I should be going too. See you later." Lou added then she too left.

As the front door closed, the oven door was opening. "Rose, go and fetch the twins would you?" Christian ordered. The words had been phrased as a question, but it was more like an order.

"Bryer! Cameryn! Mom! It's time for supper!" I shouted, just to annoy Christian. He seemed to hate when I yelled.

We didn't have to wait long before all three were in the doorway ready to shove their faces with food. We ate dinner in silence, except for the occasional cough or sneeze.

My mom left for home soon after and Brett arrived. He had taken the day off. Brett looked exhausted but I was too tired to care. Shortly after supper, all of us went to bed.

**I couldn't think of a better way to end the chapter so I just ended it there.**

**Do you like it? If you have any suggestions I want to hear (actually, read them but same thing) them. I will take them into consideration, no promises they will make it into the story though.**


	5. Chapter 4

**I love getting reviews. So for people wanting to see Dimitri, here it is.**

**I don't own Vampire Academy. Disclaimer.**

**Oh yeah! I will be updating this story every Friday. I may add another update day later if I get the hang of this thing, but until then only on Fridays.**

When It Comes Down To It Chapter 4

The next week of my life seemed to pass quickly. We had established a routine. I would go to the gym in the mornings, while Lou, Lissa, Callie, or Mia watched the twins. Then I would follow Lissa on some queenly adventure and the day would end with a nice comfortable meal. As I previously said the week was one of my most enjoyable. Well it would've been, until Sunday came along...

I watched as Lissa flipped through the mail. The rain was hammering on the windows and I couldn't help but have a feeling of dread.

"Why don't you go to the gym? Your constant sighing is driving me insane, the spirit is bad enough, thank you," Lissa remarked.

Here we go again with all the sighing. "Sorry, Liss, I just feel like something bad is probably going to happen."

Lissa laughed and covered her ears with her hands. "Rose! Don't say that when I'm pregnant. I'm worried more then I should be," Lissa said teasingly, but there was an underlying tone of seriousness in her voice. A lot of things could go wrong.

"Oh, you'll be fine. Anyway, you have everybody backing you up," I reassured, then glanced outside momentarily. I could make out Bryer crouched form as she checked up on her frog friends.

"I think that child might just be more insane then you. How long has she been out there?" I asked while shaking my head in shock.

"Just about over an hour or so," mumbled Lissa from where she sat again searching through the immense letters and royal junk (or as I would rather call it, shit). How many letters do royals need to send? Honestly, are they that much out of the world of technology?

"Just an hour," I replied already on my feet. "It's pouring out there, Lissa. She could catch a cold or something."

I opened the back door and called out to Bryer. "Bryer, come inside now honey. I don't want you to get sick." Bryer stood up and I swear she had been rolling in the mud because she was literally covered in it. I couldn't see any part of her clothes or skin that wasn't caked in it.

"Coming! Let me put Hoppy back first," she hollered back, despite being so soft spoken she sure could yell. This girl just kept surprising me; then again she was my daughter.

She ran over to me and as she tried to pass me, I grabbed her by the shoulder. Lissa would literally kill me if I let my daughter soil the furniture with mud. "You have to clean yourself off first."

Bryer proceeded to take off her overalls and rain jacket which she wore over her other clothes. She could be an expert at keeping mud off of her clothes. Of course that would be excluding the overalls and rain jacket.

"Is Hoppy the newest member to your frog collection?" I asked.

"I don't collect them, they aren't toys. I just take care of them," she said, almost boldly, and with that she bolted. Most likely off in search of her sister.

I followed her more slowly, having to stop in the laundry room. I met Lissa and Christian in the kitchen.

"Hey," said Christian.

"What's going on?" I said.

"Nothing, were just discussing the plans for the baby room. Lissa wants to paint the walls pink but I think that the walls should like a blood red or something," Christian answered. I could tell he was just doing it to tease Lissa, he knew that they were expecting a girl.

I laughed. "Oh, Chrissie, think of a colour that would compliment your girl side and you two could paint it that colour. I'm thinking... I don't know... maybe pink." In the doorway, I could hear two little monsters giggling uncontrollably.

"Ooh! Uncle Chris just got told," Cameryn gasped between her fits of laughter. I couldn't help but wonder where she would've gotten that phrase from. It didn't take me long when the name came to mind... Adrian. I bit my tongue to suppress my laughter, it almost sounded funny coming from my daughter's mouth.

"I think pink suits you very well, Uncle Christian," Bryer pointed out, her voice soft. I held back my laugh because I couldn't really tell whether she was being serious or only joking around.

Christian reached over and affectionately ruffled Bryer's hair. "Thanks, kiddo."

"You're welcome," Bryer said with a small clap of her hands.

_Ring! Ring! Ring!_

We all looked up at the exact same time to watch Lissa answer the phone.

"Hello," Lissa greeted, "Vasilisa Dragomir speaking." The rest of us tuned out of her conversation after Christian mentioned it probably was about the Moroi world. We didn't have to wait very long anyway because, before long, Lissa had hung up the phone. Feelings of sadness and pity were coming through the bond. What is it and these awful phone calls lately?

"Christian, I need to talk to you," Lissa ordered sternly. Whatever was bothering her was obviously ticking her off.

Christian opened his mouth, most likely to complain. But the queen does not like it when people complain, even from 4 year olds or 4 year olds in a 25 year olds body. Cough... Adrian... Cough. So, Lissa sent him a stern glare, which from my perspective wasn't that horrifying, because first of all this is Liss we're talking about and second I've been handing out break down and start crying glares ever since Dimitri left.

As I watched Christian follow Lissa out into the hallway I couldn't help but mutter, just for Christian's ears, "Whipped." He whacked me on the back of my head for that. Can't say I don't deserve it.

I looked towards my two pumpkins sitting nearby. Cameryn was anxiously fidgeting in a chair, while her sister was staring mournfully through the window. "So what's going on?"

Cameryn immediately burst into a story about how Adrian had healed a mosquito. I knew that the twins loved it when Adrian did his magic, more so then Lissa because they knew it had bad effects on me, but Cameryn had always hated bugs so I was wondering why she would care that it was revived. I got my answer shortly after.

"And then, I killed it again," Cameryn said proudly.

"That's disgusting Cam. Who gave you the right to kill it?" my little activist said in disgust, turning away from the window.

"Bry! You should look at it from my eyes. We all know I ha," she stopped herself, knowing I would flip if she used the word 'hate', "dislike bugs."

I couldn't help myself now. I burst into laughter. Their banter was enough to make someone laugh for the remainder of their lives.

"No, I'm looking at it from the bug's eyes, and all I'm seeing is your big foot," Bryer retorted. Ooh! Clever,I thought.

"I killed it with my hand."

"There's not much of a difference."

"Yes there is. Your hand is way better looking than your foot."

"If you didn't have feet, you couldn't walk," Bryer replied sharply.

"Well, if you didn't have hands you couldn't draw or write!" Cameryn snapped. The discussion was getting out of control. I think I'm going to have to step in soon.

"There is ways to write without having hands," Bryer said matter of factly.

"Alright, that's enough. Why don't you two take a break?" I said, stepping in to the middle of their conversation. "Go on."

Lissa had returned by the time the argument had been put to rest. Christian was nowhere in sight. "Where's Christian?"

"He left. He didn't want to get caught in the middle of this."

I raised my eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"Rose, I have some news for you and I have the sneaky suspicion you won't be liking it."

"Not more newfound relatives I hope," I said jokingly, although I don't think I could take anymore family. After all, I'd grown up thinking my only family was my absent mother, Lissa, and the teddy bear that had an eye missing from one too many surprise attacks, with almost all attacks coming from me.

Lissa grimaced. "No, no that." She paused and her eyes averted mine.

I waited for her to continue. Eventually she did continue, but not for another two and a half minutes.

"Tasha is coming for a visit. From tonight until about a week after the baby is born," Lissa said rather quickly. It didn't really matter because I hadn't heard her, I was in a state of shock from the moment she said visit.

"Rose... Rose... Rose!"

I jumped.

"Oh good, you're alive. Did you hear me?" Lissa asked hesitantly, probably terrified I would snap.

"Yes, of course I heard you. You didn't mention Dim... Guardian Belikov. So that means he's not coming, right?" I looked at Lissa hopefully, but she only shook her head ruefully. I couldn't help but gulp.

"I'm sorry, Rose. There isn't much I can do, but I'll never let you be alone with him," Lissa promised, but I knew that no matter how hard she tried, I would eventually end up alone with Guardian Belikov at least once during the month he and Tasha would be here.

"I need to get some air," I told Lissa. I looked at Lissa and I could see how tired she looked. "Get some rest. Can you tell Christian to keep an eye on the twins? I'll be back before supper." I gave Lissa a hug and I could feel how bad she felt. "Don't worry about me," I mumbled comfortingly.

I stepped out into the fresh air and inhaled deeply. The cool air felt good. I couldn't decide where to go. Finally I decided to just walk to the gym, but I think my feet had another idea in mind because before long I found myself in front of Adrian and Callie's apartment. I glanced around nervously and raised my fist to knock on the door.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

The door swung open and a surprised looking Adrian stood there, his jaw wide open. "You look like crap, little dhampir."

"Thanks, that's really what I wanted to hear. It's a wonder you were the once widely known I womanizer," I snapped and then pushed through him to get inside the apartment.

Once inside, Callie seemed to appear from nowhere, but judging from the dishcloth in her hand I was willing to bet she had come from the kitchen.

"I'm sorry. But I'm not kidding, what happened?" Adrian asked caringly. I suddenly felt stupid, I'd come here hoping that he would pretend to be the father of my children, but I guess I never put the fact that Callie was his girlfriend. I searched my mind for another reason to be here.

"Dimitri is coming," I murmured. Adrian cursed under his breath; meanwhile Callie moved over to comfort me. She put her arm around my shoulders and softly made me sit down on their couch.

"If you want to, I could pretend to be their father," Adrian suggested. I immediately shook my head. I couldn't do that to Callie, and I could feel how tense she was upon hearing Adrian's suggestion.

"I just need to talk to you two. You two know all about the return of your lost love," I said. Adrian and Callie looked each other in the eye, obviously reliving their past.

"I guess you could call it that," said Calista. "But, the situations are kind of different. I wasn't pregnant with Adrian's kids."

I made a sort of growly sigh. I didn't know what to call it. "I know, but do you have any advice?" The words felt weird on my tongue. I wasn't used to asking others for help. I think Callie and Adrian noticed this too, because they both were sharing sly smiles.

"Well, this moment is too good to be true. The Rose Hathaway asking me for advice," Adrian said loudly. "Callie, I think you should answer this."

Callie rolled her eyes. "So much for Rose asking you. I think you should act strong but if it comes down to it and you both want each other back, then I would say go for it."

"Thanks," I told them and then rose. "I'm going to be leaving now."

"Later," the couple chorused and then I was alone again, outside in the summer air. I felt calm so I decided to go home. Anyway, I'd promised to go with Lissa to the airport to pick up you-know-who.

I opened the door and walked in, almost to get tackled my Cameryn and Bryer.

Lissa's head popped out from around the corner. "Oh good, you're home. We have to go now. Christian! Brett!"

Christian came down the stairs while Brett came from the basement. Lissa grabbed them both and shoved them out the door. She gestured for me and the girls to follow her. I locked the door behind me.

Once in the van, with Brett behind the wheel, I began to become really anxious. I looked around. Lissa was sitting in the front passenger seat. Christian sat in between the twin's car seat, listening to them go on about the latest movie they saw, and I sat solo in the back. I gritted my teeth. This would mean that Tasha and Dimitri would be sitting beside me.

I looked frantically towards Lissa, but she wasn't paying attention. She was talking to Brett, leaving me no one to talk to. It didn't really bother me. I spent the rest of the car ride staring at the passing landscape in the window.

"I see them," said Lissa, using her index finger to point them out. Brett stopped the van in front of them and I could only catch a glimpse of Guardian Belikov. He hadn't really changed one bit, and if anything he looked better then when he did at St. Vlad's.

Christian leaned over Cameryn and pulled open the door to let them in. Tasha hopped in quickly, pulling a small child with her and sat beside me. I let out a breath of air, happy that Dimitri wasn't the one who would be sitting beside me. Dimitri came into the van after he had put the luggage into the trunk.

"It feels like I haven't seen you forever," Tasha gushed, her face was glowing with contentment. The boy on her lap looked terrified.

"I've missed you too, Aunt Tasha," Christian said, looking over his shoulder. He looked at the kid questioningly.

Tasha hit her forehead with the palm of her head. "Oh yeah! I would like to introduce you my son, Colby." Tasha bent her head to whisper in his ear and Colby immediately gave a small wave and he managed to crack a smile.

I looked at Colby. He had brown hair and blue eyes. I would be willing to bet money that this was Dimitri's son too.

**Did you like it? Did you hate it? Let me hear your opinion.**


	6. Chapter 5

**This chapter took me forever, but seeing how I was sick I had the day.**

**Hope you like. Disclaimer.**

When It Comes Down To It Chapter 5

I couldn't help but grit my teeth as Tasha chattered on. And on. And on. I just wished she would shut up, but no I didn't get my wish since everyone, including God, seemed to hate me.

All I could hear was "I brought Colby to the park and," this and "Oh, me and Colby were baking cookies that. Did she not know that it was supposed to be 'Colby and I'? That what was grammatically correct, but then again I should be the last person criticizing her grammar.

"So when were you planning on telling me I had a cousin, Aunt Tash?" Christian asked his voice strained.

Tasha jumped. "I kept it from you because I wanted to surprise you."

"You kept it from me for 4 years. That's a long time."

"I'm sorry," she said but I could tell she was hiding something. I glanced toward Christian, wondering whether he would be happy with that answer, he seemed to accept it. Whether because he didn't want to press the subject or because he had believed Tasha.

After the awkward exchange all conversation seemed to have stopped. It was so quiet, that when Guardian Belikov made a shuffling noise with his legendary duster every single pair of eyeballs, with the exception of Brett, swivelled to look at him. Cameryn giggled softly into the palm of her hand. "Synchronized Watching!" she cried happily. At least one person wasn't affected by Dimitri and Tasha's arrival.

Colby laughed. "We should put on a show!"

Cameryn nodded happily. "Bryer, you can be the choreographer and me and Colby will be the people who move our eyes." Oh no! Not again with the whole 'me and Colby' and 'Colby and I' business.

"What if I wanted to be in the show too?" Bryer pointed out. I could feel that another argument was about to come on so I decided to quickly put a stop to it.

"Alright, you two. That's enough, it's a small car with a lot of people," I reprimanded sternly. The only thing on my mind was that there was one too many people in this car and I wasn't referring to Christian.

"Sorry," the twins chorused.

Beside me Tasha gasped. I gave her a dull look. "I totally forgot to ask. Who is there mother? I thought it was Christian and Lissa the whole time because I was just so confused," Tasha said quickly. She seemed scrambled and her words reflected that.

Lissa looked at me and nodded encouragingly. I took a deep breath and I subconsciously noticed that Dimitri had flinched and seemed to know what I was about to say. "They are mine."

Tasha turned to me and smiled, her fangs showing. "Oh, really. That's wonderful. Who's their father?" she asked, but I wasn't really looking at her, I was more or less watching Dimitri. He looked like he was in pain, not physical pain but emotional. Ha! He totally deserved that. I was so busy wrapped in my own thoughts that I'd forgotten to answer Tasha's question.

"Rose, who is their father?" Tasha repeated.

I raised my head. "I don't really see how that is any of your business, Tasha."

Tasha looked stunned. I could barely suppress the urge to laugh at her deer caught in the headlights expression. She mumbled something under her breath and didn't speak for the rest of the ride. As a result, the ride seemed to end that much quicker.

Lissa took off with Tasha, Colby, and Guardian Belikov rather quickly while Christian hung back. He looked concerned, whether for me or the punishment Lissa would give him if he didn't do his best to console me.

"Are you okay?" he asked and he actually seemed genuinely concerned. "That couldn't have been easy."

"I'll be fine, could you just keep an eye on the twins until supper," I told him and my stomach growled. "And could you hurry up on the cooking. I'm getting a bit hungry."

"Where are you going?" Christian asked. I could've sworn I'd already told him but as I looked back I realized I hadn't.

"For a run. Just send someone to get me for supper," I told him and before he could reply I was gone. I decided to get a head start on my laps so I ran to the track.

The stopwatch in hand, I prepared myself for takeoff. I flew down the track, needing to run off all the anxiety I've been feeling today. The summer air was warm but had a feeling that could cool, either way I felt better than I had in a long time.

"Hello, Little Dhampir," Adrian called as the last of my laps drew to a close. I looked at him and rolled my eyes. He was sporting a tux and a glass of some sort of alcohol.

"Drunk already, Adrian, the night has hardly just begun," I said teasingly.

Adrian looked offended, but you could tell he too was joking. "Have you no faith in me. This is non-alcoholic."

I snorted no doubt in my mind that it was non-alcoholic because of Callie. "Only because of Callie."

He shook his head. "I have some self control!" he protested.

I rolled my eyes. "You have brain damage."

"Where?" he asked stupidly. How could he not know where brain damage is? "Oh, sorry. I wasn't listening!"

I was about to make fun of him when I heard a soft grunt coming from behind me. I spun around quickly to find myself face to face to someone none other than Dimitri Belikov.

"Christian sent me. Supper is ready," he said. He kept it hidden fairly well, but I could see that he was sending Adrian critical looks. I couldn't really see the emotion behind it though.

"Long time no see cradle robber," Adrian told Dimitri scathingly.

Dimitri didn't even reply just gestured for me to follow him. I looked at Adrian and shrugged. A small cough from Dimitri signalled that he wanted to eat, so I quickly complied despite wanting to talk to Adrian a bit longer. Though, I think he was just heading to a party before he ran into me.

As we were heading back, not a word was uttered between us and the air was so awkward. I felt like I was drowning in awkwardness.

We arrived home in what felt like hours, but in reality was only like 10 minutes. Dimitri disappeared around the corner into the dining room. I couldn't help but get the feeling that he was avoiding me, but then again I didn't really have a problem with that.

I entered the dining room and was greeted by lots of voices. Everyone was sitting around the table, including Eddie, Mia, and Brett. Looking around I realized how big of a table Lissa and Christian owned. It seated nearly 10 people!

There weren't many conversations going on. Beside me, the twins and Colby were talking as if they've been friends for ages. The others were talking about royal stuff. I couldn't help but notice that Dimitri wasn't saying anything, like me.

"So, Rose, what have you been doing since you graduated?" Tasha asked, obviously not catching the hint that I didn't want to on in on any conversations.

I narrowed my eyes, but a scolding through the bond from Lissa made me stop. "Oh, nothing much," I finally said, trying to push Tasha away from this topic by being vague. I never realized how clueless she is.

"Oh, it's obviously not nothing much. You have daughters now, something must have happened," she continued adamantly. Gosh Tasha! Take a hint.

"I guess I've been looking into schools around court for the twins," I said.

Tasha nodded and then turned away going on about a school she found for Colby. For some reason I felt a little ticked off. I wasn't really sure why. I noticed that Lissa was really tired while I was looking around the table. Nearly everyone was finished eating so I began to gather up the dishes, something you never would've seen me do 4 years ago.

"Lissa, why don't you go get some sleep? I can clean up," I suggested.

"Oh no, Rose. I can clean up," Lissa replied and moved to pick up some plates. I sent her a stern look, warning her that if she didn't do as I say there would be trouble. Christian, beside her, seemed to agree and was already trying to push her up the stairs.

"Scat! Out of my kitchen!" I called after her teasingly. I turned to the bundle of 4 year olds standing by my feet. "I want you 3 to go and make sure Lissa goes down to sleep, okay?" I knew sending them away would get them out of my hair, but I couldn't help but silently tremble knowing that if I ever got stuck in the same room as Dimitri they might be my only lifelines.

They left quickly with a chorus of 'yeps' and I walked into the kitchen. The sink was already filled with water. I dropped the dishes in my hand into the water with a plop and grabbed a dishrag. I dipped my hands into the sink and shivered. The water wasn't cold, but it was the familiar pair of eyes boring into the back of my head that were sending chills up and down my spine.

"Need a hand," he asked, his voice sounding the same as ever and oddly it was something I hadn't noticed until now.

I grunted, not having the heart to dignify him with a response. I grabbed another dishrag and tossed it to him, a bit harder than necessary.

"The twins are like you," he said. I looked at him, still avoiding his eyes.

"How would you know?" I said coldly, but Dimitri was like a wall because nothing seemed to affect him. Not the best analogy, but English never had been my best subject.

"I was just hanging with them before supper," he replied, out of the corner of my eye I could see him shake a strand of hair out if his eyes. "They're getting along well with Colby and Cameryn's very talkative, she reminds me of you." I felt a sense of joy flood through me but I immediately pushed it away.

"She is my daughter, so it only makes sense that she would be like me," I pointed out while scrubbing a bit harder on the fork then was necessary. "Colby looks like you," I mumbled not intending for him to hear me.

That got through to him, even if that wasn't my intention. "Colby's not even my son."

The words rang though my head and I felt like Christmas had come early. I pushed that thought away. Why couldn't it be easier to follow Callie's advice and why did Dimitri have to be so tempting?

"Oh, I just assumed," I began but I was rudely interrupted.

"Well you assumed wrong," he said. I felt my anger flare up, what was his problem, I hadn't done anything wrong, and he was the one here interfering with my life.

"What is your problem, Belikov?" I snapped.

Dimitri looked at me with one of his eyebrows raised. "The fact that you have kids," he muttered under his breath, quietly so I couldn't hear it but it didn't turn out very well for him.

"Why should you be mad? You're the one that left me for Tasha," I retorted trying to refrain from sending spit on him.

Dimitri glared at me and then he slipped back into his guardian mask. He stormed out of the kitchen.

I snorted and clenched my fists angrily. Why was he so angry?

I marched into the living room and glanced around checking to make sure that no one was insight. Finally satisfied I sank onto the couch and closed my eyes in thought.

Why did Dimitri have to leave? Things could've been so different and now that he was back things were about to change again.

**Did you like it? Please review.**


	7. Chapter 6

**I read Last Sacrifice in one day. I loved it. **

**Anyway, this chapter is much longer, but it seems kind of quick. However, I'm still posting it.**

**Disclaimer. The only chance I have of ever owning VA is in my dreams.**

**Hope you enjoy!**

When It Comes Down To It Chapter 6

"Is something wrong, Mommy?" a small voice asked. "Why are you crying?" I looked up and came face to face with Bryer. I had no clue how she had crept up on me considering I was one of the best guardians out there.

"Oh sweetheart, I'm fine," I told her softly in an attempt to calm her down. She looked sad and a little flustered.

"Then why were you crying?" she repeated.

"It was over nothing. I just needed to get a good cry in," I answered, doing my best to give as much of the truth as I could. Didn't really work out that well. "Now, what is the matter with you?"

Bryer's eyes widened and she quickly wiped her face, trying to erase the already dried tears on her cheeks. "Oh, I just needed to get a good cry in."

I bit my lip. I guess I had underestimated my daughter. She was amazing at spotting lies. I wasn't really setting a good example so I tried to under my wrong. "Are you sure that it was nothing?"

Bryer hung her head and moved herself to sit on my lap. "I was talking to Colby and he said he saw his daddy a lot." I looked at her, wondering where she was heading with this. At the mention of Colby's father I immediately thought of Dimitri although we had already established that Dimitri wasn't the father of Colby.

"Uh hunh, so what else happened?" I queried, trying to get her to continue.

"Well, Cameryn said that we never got to our daddy and then Colby was laughing and started going on about how his daddy took him to the park and to get ice cream. And then he said that his daddy had a lot of guardians," said Bryer. "Mommy, where is me and Cameryn's daddy?"

I paused, taking my time in answering her. When I had accused Dimitri of being Colby's father I guess I had never put into place the fact that Colby was a Moroi, thus making it impossible for Dimitri to be his father. I tried to think of a Moroi who could have fathered Colby but nobody was coming to mind. While I'd been stuck in my thoughts, Bryer had been looking at me hopefully.

"I don't think now is the right time for you to meet your father," I said a little sharper then I had intended and I instantly regretted it the moment Bryer's face took on a look of hurt.

"But, Mommy..." she whined.

I shook my head, not prepared to deal with this. "No. Anyway, I think that it is time for bed," I told her and then reached over to pick her up.

Bryer stopped her whining at that I think it was because she looked exhausted. I carried her up the stairs and nearly tripped on Cameryn and Colby sitting at the top of the stairs.

"I think it's about time for bed," I told them. I knew that they were going to complain so I gave them both a stern look. Thankfully, Tasha decided to show up and give me a hand, which was more or less put Colby to bed.

Finally, I'd convinced Cameryn to brush her teeth and put her pyjamas on. She always loved to take her good sweet time in getting ready for bed.

"It's my turn to pick the bedtime story," Cameryn shouted. I rolled my eyes, although I didn't let the twins see, because I knew that it was in fact Bryer's turn to pick the story.

"No it is not!" Bryer countered. She turned to me. "Mommy, Cameryn is lying," she tattled. Normally, I wouldn't accept so much whining but Bryer usually only complained when she was tired or had a real reason for complaining.

"Cameryn its Bryer's turn," I said then nodded at Bryer to pick out a book.

She grabbed a book and passed it to me. I didn't even look at the title, I just started reading it. By the time I had finished both of the girls were passed out. I pecked them both on the foreheads then went to catch myself some shuteye. Today had been a long day.

OoOoOoO

The next morning I could hear the buzz coming from downstairs, meaning that there were a lot of people here to make so much noise.

I hauled myself out of bed and threw on track pants and a t-shirt. Not the nicest outfit but I dressed more for comfort now then I used too. No point seeing there is a certain pair of girls who have a ridiculous habit of making my clothes covered in stains. I crept down the stairs and through my slightly obstructed view I could make out Anton animatedly talking to the kids. I guess Anton did have a soft spot for kids, much to my surprise.

I entered the room and I took in the sight. Lissa was sitting in the rocking chair chatting to Tasha, Callie, and Mia. Christian, Adrian, Eddie, and Brett were staring at the TV. I peeked over Brett's shoulder to see that they were watching football. I'd never really thought of the guys interested in football but whatever made them happy I was fine with. I already knew where the kids and Anton were but I couldn't see Dimitri or Lou anywhere.

"Hey Rose!" Mia called and I turned towards her. She beckoned me over with her hand and I obliged seeing as there was no one else to talk too.

"What's up?" I asked towards no one in particular.

"The sky," Callie replied nonchalantly. "But, seriously the dudes have been glued to the TV all morning, excluding the tall one."

Tasha nodded. "His name is Dimitri. Anyway, Colby loves watching cartoons on Saturday mornings but I don't see how that was going to happen."

I looked towards them. "Since when do they like football?"

"Since Brett moved in. You know how much he talks about football, so the others wanted to give it a shot," Lissa put in as she shook her head in disbelief.

"Where is Dimitri or Lou for that matter anyway?" I blurted, my curiosity getting the better of me.

Tasha smiled and I wondered what she thought was so funny. "He went for a walk. I have no clue where Lou is though." She shrugged apologetically.

I was about to reply when the door opened and Dimitri and Lou waltzed in. They were both sporting smiles and I was shocked. Lou was always smiling but I'd never expected Dimitri to smile like that. It reminded me of the time Tasha had come to the academy and Dimitri had brought me to her cabin, he had been all smiles that evening. I tried to suppress a shudder as I thought about the cabin where things happened.

"Oh, look who is all smiles this beautiful morning," Adrian exclaimed, his voice unusually bright for someone who was accustomed to sleeping until well past noon (or midnight depending on your schedule). Especially since it was only around 10 o'clock am (as per usual, that was depending on your schedule).

Lou laughed. "I see you've never changed, Dimka," Lou told Dimitri teasingly. I noticed that there wasn't anything flirty about her words but a surge of jealousy still filled me.

To my surprise, he laughed. "I'm not always so stoic."

I snorted unbelievingly and a few people shot me odd looks.

"Sure, you aren't. Keep telling yourself that," Lou replied sarcastically.

"So, what have you been up to lately, Dimitri?" Anton asked. I wondered how Lou and Anton knew him. It was practically eating me alive.

Dimitri shrugged. I looked around and judging from everyone's expressions, they were all just as confused as me. "Nothing much, I got reassigned to 's after Ivan died," he paused and I could see how much grief he was in thinking of his old friend. "Then Tasha offered me a job so I pounced on it." I grit my teeth. Remembering that it hadn't exactly been like that. Dimitri had refused her the first time around, only taking her offer the second time.

Anton nodded. "Obviously, it hasn't been that bad."

Lou smacked him on the back of his head making Bryer, Cameryn, and Colby giggle. I could hear her whisper the name 'Ivan' in his ear.

There was an uncomfortable silence after that. Until, Lissa stood up. She clapped her hands, pulling the guys out of their intense stare down with the television. "Alright, people, we can't just sit here like lumps on a log. Today is the day we finish the baby's room."

The words went in one ear and out the other until I decided to call them back, not quite exactly catching the meaning. _I can't believe you forgot_, a voice in my head scolded, until I realized it hadn't been my thoughts, it had been a message from Lissa. I looked up at her and her expression was one of amusement, pleased at taking me by surprise.

"So, that's why everyone is here?" Adrian muttered behind me. "She tricked us." Then he spoke a bit louder, "I thought we came here for brunch."

There were a few grumbles in agreement and I couldn't believe she'd pulled it off. I hadn't believed her when she had said that she would get everyone to help a few weeks ago. Especially not like this.

Lissa looked at them with a big smile. "You are here for brunch, but you have to be done with the room first."

"Aw, come on Liss, that's blackmail!" Callie called, obviously trying to contain her laughter. "Can I help you in the kitchen?"

Adrian shot of his seat. "No! She'll kill us all, whether by food poisoning or a house fire." Callie wrinkled her nose and promptly smacked him upside the head. Adrian put his hand on the back of his head as if to see if he was bleeding, but as I expected there was none. "You know I was kidding right?"

Few dared to laugh. It was well known knowledge that Callie Zeklos didn't have a homely bone in her body, meaning that most of her meals were takeout for fear of destroying the house, but didn't mean that she wouldn't defend herself, both with her fists or words. It was kind of funny really, because Adrian was a pretty good cook who actually rivalling Lissa and Christian.

Callie put her hands on her hips and sent Adrian a glare. Adrian gulped and looked away, fairly quickly if I do say so myself. "I'm sure you were kidding right," she said sarcastically and then she sat on his lap. I quickly placed my hand in front of the twin's eyes, not really in them seeing anything related to anything like that, especially at the age of 4.

Lissa clapped again and this time her gaze was stern. "Stop getting distracted. This baby could be coming today if I'm that unlucky so I want a place for the baby to stay. Does everybody get that?" Lissa actually looked scary. I think she's been spending too much time on the throne.

We all nodded in agreement and then Christian split us into groups. I think that they've been planning all this for awhile now. I was with Brett, Lou, Callie, Eddie and Christian. The kids had been drafted to help Mia in the kitchen while Lissa took a nap. It had taken a bit of effort to convince her to take one after all Lissa felt obliged to at least make the brunch if she wasn't helping with the construction. The other group contained Dimitri, Anton, Adrian, and Tasha.

The first group was responsible for assembling the furniture. I couldn't believe that Lissa thought I had the patience to assemble furniture. Was she insane? Oh wait! There was the situation with spirit. I kind of felt bad for thinking that, but seriously, a whole day of following instructions and finding out what goes where. That was like my worst nightmare.

The second group was put in charge of painting the room. I think I'd rather pain but no amount of complaining was getting me anywhere.

I settled down beside Lou and began to help her put together a changing table.

"So how do you know Dimitri?" I asked after a few moments. Reaching over I grabbed a plank of wood and put a few bolts that were going to do God knows what.

Lou smiled. "I need that piece and those bolts don't go there," she said as she snatched it back. "I met him at school. We went to the same academy."

My head shot up. "You knew him then?"

She nodded. "Yeah, my best friend, Millie and Ivan had a huge crush on each other." Lou looked away and took on a distant look. "She had made me ask Dimitri to the dance in an attempt to get her a date with Ivan." She paused and sent me a look as if to ask if I was following. Oh, I'd been following alright, enough to hear that Lou and Dimitri had once gone out on a date. I felt jealous but I had to remind myself that Dimitri had left me.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts and then gave Lou the nod to continue. I nodded and I subconsciously noticed that Lou was already halfway done making the changing table.

"So I finally asked him, only to find out-," she paused. I think only to add suspense. I wondered what she was going to say. It was probably along the lines of 'he wasn't the one to go out on dates'. I didn't have a chance to finish my thoughts because Lou had continued. "I found out that Ivan had asked Dimitri to ask me out too. It was kind of funny. We went along with it and soon Millie and Ivan were so madly in love it sickened me. As they became closer, Dimitri and I hung out more and more. I guess that is pretty much it. We hung out for the rest of our high school lives and we sort of dated too." Lou blushed furiously at that and I laughed at her red face despite my insides were churning with jealousy.

"Wow," I said, almost speechless. I thought it was kind of funny that Dimitri had been forced to ask a girl out. It was so funny. I had always thought and still thought that Dimitri was invincible, from both Strigoi and everything else that wasn't Strigoi.

Louise flushed even more. "Yeah, quite a shocker, I know. But, I would have done anything for Millie."

I nodded and Lou left me alone with my thoughts. The rest of the day passed by quickly.

We all stood back and admired the room. The walls were a light green and the flooring was beige that suited the walls well. Most of the furniture was white and stood out nicely.

"Dinner's ready!" Mia called and the group of 4 years olds took off in a hurry. I couldn't believe they could still be hungry after all the snacks Mia had put out for them.

"Let's go," I said and I quickly left the room in return for food. Brett was the second one out of the room. There was nothing that could keep him from his food.

We took our seats and I was sitting in between the twins. Colby sat beside Cameryn and unfortunately, Dimitri was seated beside Bryer.

"I think tomorrow we should redecorate our room," Cameryn suggested. "We could paint it red and black!"

"Way to be the stereotypical vampire, Cam," Adrian said with a laugh.

"That's because I am a vampire, duh," Cameryn retorted.

"Cameryn, what have I said about saying that, it's really rude," I scolded softly.

Cameryn just rolled her eyes and began chatting Colby's ear off (figuratively, of course).

"So, has anyone heard about the recent Strigoi attack?" Eddie asked and soon everyone was in a conversation about the Moroi who surprisingly didn't die because they had used magic offensively.

"Well, I guess we should be going," Callie said when supper was finished.

Lissa nodded and smiled, as she passed her Callie's coat. Callie threw it on and tugged Adrian out the door.

"They left in a hurry," remarked Brett, but contrary to his words he disappeared into his room within the next five seconds.

"He left in a hurry too," Eddie said. Eddie nodded in farewell and went to his room too tugging Mia behind him.

"Does anybody want to have anything to drink?" Christian offered before he sat down on the couch with the rest of us.

Tasha nodded and then flipped open her cellphone that had been ringing uncontrollably for awhile. "Hello... Oh, Kurt!" Tasha looked at us then mumbled a small apology as she exited the room with Colby in tow.

"Who is Kurt?" Lissa asked Dimitri.

"Her boyfriend," he replied with a simple shrug. "He's Colby's father." Dimitri was looking at me when he was saying that.

"I didn't know she had a boyfriend," said Lissa. Through the bond I could tell that she was trying to keep up the conversation to avoid any awkward silences.

Dimitri turned away to look at Lissa. "Yeah, they've been together for quite a bit now."

"She never mentioned that when she called," Lissa pointed out.

"She didn't want you to know."

Lissa was confused. "That doesn't really make much sense. Why didn't she tell us?"

"She wasn't obligated too, Princess," he replied. He did the guardian looking-without-looking thing, but I could tell he had his eyes on me, "I'm sure there is stuff you haven't been telling her."

I flinched and for some reason I had the feeling he wasn't talking about Lissa and Christian. Maybe, perhaps, he was referring to a certain someone who shares the name as a prickly flower.

**I want to know if you like it, so in order for me to know is for you to review.**


	8. Chapter 7

**I would like to thank you all for your reviews. They make my day. So here is the next chapter. Hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer still stands and unless I'm really lucky always will.**

When It Comes Down To It Chapter 7

I blinked in surprise. He couldn't know about the twins. Maybe he was talking about just our lives in general. I hope he doesn't know.

"I wouldn't say that," said Lissa. "We've told Tasha everything she needed to know about our lives."

Dimitri shrugged and I wondered what he had meant by his statement.

"Who wanted ice cold water!" Tasha's sickeningly sweet voice came from the doorway. She crossed the room and handed each of us our glasses of water. Christian at her heels like a little puppy, a look I've seen on Christian many times before.

"So, Aunt Tash, tell us about this Kurt," Christian begged his aunt.

Tasha wrinkled her nose. "You don't want to hear about him. He's just my friend."

"And the father of your child," I added, enjoying the opportunity to embarrass Tasha. I would remember this moment for the rest of my life.

Tasha glared at me. "Thanks for adding that Rose," Tasha snapped. She didn't seem that angry, more like she was humiliated judging from her red face. I laughed.

"So where did you meet him?" Christian pried.

Tasha huffed, finally realizing that there was no getting around telling Christian. "He came to my fighting studio and wanted lessons. I devised a training schedule for him because he is a Moroi. I became his personal trainer and then, yeah..."she trailed off.

Christian sniffed, and I got the feeling that he didn't really want to hear about his aunt's love life, but then again hadn't he asked for it.

"Were all very happy for you," said Lissa, filling in the silence. She probably felt the tension as much as I did. "But, why didn't you bring him with you."

"I don't know... umm... he had a meeting to go too, for his work," Tasha said. "He said that he felt bad for not coming. So, the weather has been really nice lately, don't you think?" Wow! I thought. Her attempt to change the topic couldn't have been more obvious.

"Yeah," Lissa said lamely. "Tomorrow I'm stuck in another meeting with all the prince and princesses. I always have these stupid meetings whenever the weather isn't crappy."

I jumped. It wasn't often Lissa swore, it was most likely because of the pregnancy hormones. "Why don't you say you can't go? After all, you are pregnant."

"I'm not like that, Rose, and I'll be off a lot when the baby comes. Only 2 more weeks..." said Lissa. She turned to her husband. "We have to be at the admin building by 9. You'll be there right."

"Fine. Whatever," Christian grumbled. He obviously hates the royals just as much as I do.

My head shot up. "What do you mean, Liss? Does that mean you'll both be gone all day?"

Lissa nodded and through the bond she sent me calming messages, although I had to say that they weren't working well.

"I'm putting the twins to bed," I said. Then I was gone, leaving no trace of me having been in the room. Although my half empty glass of water might be a dead giveaway.

"Bryer! Cameryn! Where are you?" I climbed up the stairs two at a time.

"Mommy, you shouldn't do that, you might take a tumble," Bryer advised. I looked around for her, but she was nowhere in sight. She stepped out of the shadows nearly scaring me half to death.

"Bryer, don't scare me like that," I scolded her, but my heart wasn't in it because I was positive she hadn't meant to frighten me. "Now, where's your sister?"

"Who, Cameryn?"

"Last time I checked, you only had one sister."

Bryer shrugged indifferently. "I pretty much have a sister in Aunt Lissa's tummy. Cam is in the bathroom, brushing her teeth."

I looked at Bryer in surprise. "Are you lying to me?" She shook her head. "Did you brush your teeth?" She nodded.

"Mommy, can you tell us about Daddy today?" Bryer asked. She looked at me, her eyes so huge and adorable that my heart twisted. I wanted them to know so badly but on the other hand Dimitri might find out through the twins.

"I don't know, sweetheart," I told her truthfully. Bryer's face looked even sadder and my heart nearly broke in half. Only my resolve to keep Dimitri in the dark prevented me from breaking down and telling her all about her father. "Maybe later," I added, desperately praying that it would satisfy her, but as usual I underestimated her.

"That's what you said yesterday and it's probably what you're going to say tomorrow too," Bryer cried.

I bit my lip, weighing the pros and cons. "Alright, you can both ask me one question about him, except for his name," I finally agreed, knowing I would probably regret this.

Bryer gave me an award winning smile and then she dashed off to find Cameryn.

I walked into their room and waited for their arrival. I could hear them coming. Their excited shouts seemed to echo around the entire house. So much that I began to expect Dimitri to come into the room and confront me right now. For once, luck was on my side and when someone came into the room it was a pair of troublesome girls, not the giant of a man I'd been expecting. As soon as they were seated I closed the door to thwart any attempts to eavesdrop.

"So, Mommy, what was he like?" Cameryn asked first.

I sighed and sat on the bed between them. "First of all, you two are not going to say what I tell you to anyone and secondly, you can't ask his name, promise?" They both nodded in agreement. "Okay, well he was nice, calm, and protective..." I trailed off, there were other adjectives I might have used but they didn't seem appropriate to tell a four year old.

"That's it!" Cameryn shrieked.

"Yes, now what is your question Bryer?" I asked.

"Umm... oh, did you know him when you were at The Academy?" Bryer said. I chucked when she said the academy as if it was a revered place or something of the sorts, but my chuckle was short lived as this question is relatively dangerous.

"Yes," I told them after a more then brief hesitation.

Their eyes widened. "Really!" It was times like these that I really thought they were twins.

I nodded. "Okay, you've had your questions now I want you two to get to bed."

Then there was some whining and complaining and a bit more whining, but finally the twins were snug in bed, fast asleep. I tiptoed out of their room and decided to get out of the house, the air in here was to tense for my liking.

I walked down the stairs avoiding detection by the others. The fresh air tasted refreshing and I immediately felt calmer.

I walked slowly, taking in the street covered in pavement and the streetlights that all seemed to be a different colour. You'd think that with such an abundance of money around Court the place would a bit better kept. I glanced around and found myself on a well used path to the gym, the worst smelling place in the gym. I picked up my pace even I would have rather felt a bit more of the sun's heat.

I pushed the doors open and stepped. I could see a pair of guardians sparring and a few others engaged in a bench pressing competition. I ignored them all and brushed past a punching bag to get a stop watch. But, apparently, the punching bag had another thing in mind and it swung out and knocked me down, before I had the chance to defend myself. My head smacked the ground.

I sat up, with my hand pressed to the back of my head. I let loose a string of obscenities not appropriate for anyone.

"Are you okay?" a familiar voice asked me. I looked up and saw Dimitri, his brown eyes were hard to read but I could detect a bit of concern.

"I'm just fine," I lied through gritted teeth. He offered me a hand but I pushed it away and stood up without his help.

Nearby, a few guardians who've obviously never seen someone get hit with a punching bag before were snickering loudly. "Punching Bag – 1, Hathaway – 0," a guy I could vaguely recognize as Oliver.

"Very funny," I snapped harshly, but I didn't feel as tough as I sounded because my vision was swimming around me.

"Are you okay?" Dimitri asked me again, turning me away from the guys and I pushed him away yet again.

"I told you I'm fine. What do you care anyway?" I said angrily. My vision was still shaky but not as bad, it was the massive headache that was killing me, figuratively speaking.

"I was the one that hit the punching bag," Dimitri replied apologetically.

"Well, thank you, I don't know what I would've done without the brutal beating by a punching bag," I growled sarcastically.

Suddenly, I didn't feel so tough anymore. I think I might have hit my head a bit harder than I thought because my legs were feeling wobbly and I nearly hit the floor for a second time. Except for the fact the Dimitri had gotten hold of me to prevent my less then graceful fall.

"Here I'll walk you back," Dimitri said. If it was any other case I would have declined but I don't think I would have made it by myself. I'm not as stupid as others make me out to be.

We walked back slowly, me leaning on Dimitri (I had no clue whether I was enjoying this or hating it) and it took quite awhile. We didn't talk because I shut down all chances for it. They would have all ended in an argument anyway.

When we got home, the lights were off and we discovered Lissa was asleep. I refused to wake her just to heal my head, with her being asleep and pregnant and all, so I just climbed the stairs to my room. Without Dimitri's help, although he did offer, but I did remember that I was supposed to hate him.

I opened the door to my room and put my pyjamas on rather slowly, not even realizing the Bryer was lying on my bed until I'd crawled in five minutes later.

"Mommy?" she mumbled, waking when the mattress moved.

"Yes, sweetheart," I said softly.

"Did you meet daddy while you were gone?" she asked sweetly.

I ignored the question and asked her one instead. "Baby, aren't you happy without a daddy, do you really need one?"

Bryer turned to look at me, her eyes half closed. "I love you and Cam and I are fine we don't need our daddy yet, but maybe daddy needs us."

"Alright go back to sleep." I closed my eyes and my mind was spinning. Not because of my head but because the ever so intelligent answer my daughter just gave.

**Did you like it? I was lacking inspiration for this chapter. Nonetheless, I still like reviews.**


	9. Chapter 8

**I feel horrible about how I haven't updated in forever. Go ahead, throw figurative apples (red ones, I don't like them) at them. I'm really very sorry. I just ran out of ideas, but after I re-read it finally, the ideas came flooding back, so were back in business. Yeah, I know, just a pile of lame excuses...**

**Anyhoo, disclaimer, which means I do not own Vampire Academy.**

When It Comes Down To It Chapter 8

It took me some time to get to back to bed. I sighed, it was hopeless, I would never get some sleep and Bryer's words would haunt me forever. I tossed back and forth some more in an attempt to find a more comfortable position. I put my head and looked at the clock. It was around 2 o'clock. I forced my eyes shut and willed myself to sleep.

XXX

Pain shot through me. It felt like my stomach was being run over by a herd of elephants. I glanced around, in too much panic to notice that the world was in black and white, and saw Dimitri playing with the twins. My stomach twisted. When could that have happened? Not far behind, just over Dimitri's shoulder, I could make out a body lying motionless. I shrieked and bolted over. Liss.

"Rose! Wake up! You have to go!" My eyes flickered open and I came face to face with Mia.

"What's going on?" I asked sleepily.

Mia didn't reply. She dashed over to my closet and tossed me a pair of pants and a t-shirt. "Put them on."

"Why?" I asked. But, the answer didn't come in the form of Mia. I was sucked into Lissa's head.

Lissa was leaning heavily against Christian. I could feel a mixture of feelings coming from her, mainly fear and determination. "Where's Rose?"

"Mia went to fetch her," Tasha answered. "I'll tell her to hurry up."

I pulled out of Lissa's head. I didn't know what was happening but right now Lissa needed me.

Instead of putting the clothes Mia suggested, I just threw on a sweater. The prospect of being seen in my pyjamas was the least of my worries. I leapt down the stairs and nearly bowled over Tasha, who I assumed was coming up the stairs to fetch me.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"The baby's coming," Christian replied and then he turned to usher Lissa into the car.

I jumped in behind them and we took off for the hospital. Not a word was spoken, except for little terrified squeaks of pain from Lissa.

When we got there, the nurses immediately ushered Lissa into a room. We tried to follow but they refused to let in more than two people. Christian and I seemed like the logical choices.

We had to get into these nurses' outfits. They weren't very flattering at all. After thinking that, I sort of felt bad, considering the fact that my best friend was about to give birth to her first born child.

I put all my focus on comforting Liss. I stroked her hair, like she had done for me with the twins, and told her as soothingly as I could that it would be okay. Christian stood there like a good husband and encouraged her to the best of his abilities. I'm sure to Liss he had done a good job but I could tell he wouldn't make a very good midwife, let alone nurse. Oh right, I was supposed to be helping Liss.

It took awhile but after a couple hours, some rare words of vulgarity from Lissa, and the occasional coffee break for the doctor... just kidding, we welcomed with open hands the first loud, in fact ear splitting, cries from the baby.

I smiled at Liss and Christian, who were both in their perfect little world, now that they had a child to call their own. Feeling Lissa's pride and pure joy made me smile so much I swear my cheeks were starting to stiffen. I dropped the smile to ensure I still had full use of my face. I did.

Shortly after, Tasha and Dimitri were allowed in the room. I didn't so much as send a look their way, remembering the whole punching bag incident.

"Liss, you should get some sleep," Christian said softly.

Lissa didn't complain just simply sagged with relief and exhaustion. I sat down beside her bed and tuned in on the others conversation. Not that it was really that important, because I honestly didn't care about the weather and I was fairly sure that none of them did unless Dimitri was actually a weatherman acting as a guardian for some sort of undercover work.

"What are you guys going to name her?" Tasha asked, obviously not eager to talk about the weather, maybe she was actually the undercover one.

"We've got some ideas," Christian replied vaguely. He yawned and sat down beside his angelic looking wife.

I mumbled something about going to get some coffee at the cafeteria and I wasn't expecting a tag-along but when I turned behind me there stood Dimitri. The king of the weathermen at his finest. I snorted at my lame joke. Thank God no one had heard it. "What do you want?"

He shrugged and brushed past me, taking the lead towards the cafeteria.

After we got onto the elevator, he pushed a button leading. And the machine moved. I tensed, for some strange reason elevators always frightened me. How could anyone stand the thought of only being attached by a steel rope, that if snapped would lead to our untimely demise. God, I was such a wimp. The hospital was only 4 stories high and if it crashed I would already be at the hospital.

When the elevator came to a stop, I was already out the door and into the cafeteria. I was greeted by the smell of food. I walked briskly up to the counter and ordered a coffee and chocolate-covered donut. Dimitri stood behind and I asked him what he wanted.

"I can pay," he said.

"Just tell me, Comrade," I barked.

Dimitri smiled at the mention of his old nickname, and then said he wanted a coffee as well.

After getting the drinks and donut we sat at a table near a darkly tinted window. I would have liked to see what was happening outside even if the scenery wasn't enhanced by the light of the sun.

Looking at Dimitri right now, I almost felt the need to tell him about his daughters. There was some truth behind Bryer's words. Dimitri looked almost lost and lonely although he was pretty good at hiding it.

"How's your head?" he said.

I shrugged. "My head is fine and –"

"I'm really sorry about that. I didn't do it on purpose."

"I know you didn't, so you can just let it go."

"Rose, can you just listen to me? I'm sorry about everything. Can you forgive me?"

I frowned, resisting the urge to look into his eyes and tell him everything was forgiven and that... I stopped my train of thought. Why was it so difficult to stay mad at him? I cursed myself. "It's not really a matter of whether I can. It's more about whether I will."

I glanced up and I caught a glimpse of worry in his deep, bottomless eyes, which could make me want to drown in them... I growled internally. Why was it so hard? I closed my eyes and opened my mouth, ready to say I could never forgive him but the words could not come out. At a loss, I stood up, nodded farewell and then disappeared into the bathroom, needing some time to myself.

I leaned on the sink, wondering how I could feel this way whenever I was around Dimitri. Especially after everything he did. Splashing water on my face I left and climbed the steps, not wanting to experience the whole elevator ordeal again, to check up on Lissa.

I opened the door to her room. Liss was cradling her daughter in her arms, Christian at her side, like an ever faithful dog. I chuckled. "So, what you going to name her?" I asked while carefully avoiding Dimitri's gaze.

Lissa jumped and then gave me a small smile. "Did you get a coffee for me?"

I shook my head bluntly. "Didn't you hear me? I asked you what you were planning on naming the baby."

"If I remember correctly, you didn't tell me what you were naming the twins for 5 days after that. And even then I had to search your room for their birth certificates. How could've I called myself their aunt if I hadn't known their names?" Lissa pointed out.

I laughed. "Come on! Didn't you say you wanted me to name them Prissy and Ingnn?"

Lissa turned up her nose and glared at me playfully. "I was joking! Anyway, I found the second one on the internet. We couldn't even pronounce the stupid name."

I gasped. "Vasilisa Dragomir! How dare you use such foul language in front of your child!"

"Oh please, that's hypocrisy at its finest."

I rolled my eyes. " 'Kay. Just don't come running to me when your child is a delinquent."

Lissa gave a weak laugh, obviously still tired from giving birth. "I'm sure you'll be the one behind her delinquency, Rosie."

"Me, never. So, what are you naming her? Or will I have to call her 'Girl' for the rest of her life?" I asked again. Turning to Christian, I sent him a harsh look. There would be no way, he could resist, especially considering I was in part responsible for his protection against Strigoi. There could be nothing I could do if the Strigoi accidently got through our line a defence... all jokes, no worries.

Christian rolled his eyes. "We're naming her Jade Rose Dragomir, okay?"

I could literally feel my eyes tearing up. Here they were, some of my best friends in the world were naming their first born child after, even if it was only the middle name. "It's a beautiful name," I sang as I sank into a wooden chair off to the left.

As I leaned my head back, I could see Liss exchange a bewildered glance with Christian.

"Rose, are you okay?" Lissa called out after a few moments of silence.

I looked over at her and I found myself returning back to normal. "Yeah, do you know where the twins are?" I asked, as I immediately remembered that the twins would be at home all alone right now.

I'd directed my question towards Lissa, but Christian was the one to answer. "We sent Lou over there but Tasha and Dimitri wanted to get going too. They said they'd be back later, probably with the kids."

Releasing a breath, I was happy to be rid of Dimitri. I needed to be able to focus on Lissa now that she had a baby. Nothing could stand between me and my charge, I told myself internally.

With a small glance at Lissa, Christian, and Jade, I knew they could probably use some alone time. Rising to my feet, I slipped out of the hospital room quietly and unnoticeably.

My feet thudded on the blindingly bright white tiles, so blindingly bright that I could swear they were giving off their own light. Despite, the light given off from the floor and the tinted yellow lights hanging from the ceiling, I still felt like it was really dark. I hardly took notice of the other objects surrounding me, which was irresponsible for me, being a guardian and all. Either way, as a result I ended up crashing headlong into Anton.

"Next time you might want to walk with your head up," Anton remarked dryly. "It would most likely save you the embarrassment of walking into people."

I huffed. "Well, then you shouldn't take up the whole corridor."

Anton arched an eyebrow; much like Dimitri did, and then stepped to the side. I moved to walk past him but before I could leave, he grabbed my elbow to stop me. I was about to snap at him but he beat me to the chase. "So, when are you going tell him, Rose?"

My eyes widened in bewilderment. How did someone I just met, know one of my biggest secrets? "What are you talking about?" I replied in an attempt to feign innocence.

"Oh, come off it, Hathaway, you know what I'm talking about. Those are Dimitri's daughters, aren't they? So, when are you going to tell him? The longer you wait, the worse it'll be," Anton continued.

I narrowed my eyes, furiously. How dare he try to convince her to tell him something she was by no means ready for? "I don't see how it's any of your business, Anton."

"Well, I'd rather not see Dimitri get hurt. Despite his appearance he actually had a few friends in school, Lou and I being two of them. It will be less painful for both of you if you just tell him," my cousin said. He didn't even stay around long enough to let me retort.

I watched, Anton go, my heart heavy. I had no clue as to what to do? If I just held out until Tasha, Colby and he left, wouldn't everything go back to normal? Running a hand, through my hair, I sank to the floor, and closed my eyes to think.

**It might be a little rough, but it's better than nothing. I've been happy with the response so far, and I will continue this story even if no one wants to read it now. **

**If you've got any ideas for the story feel free to share. **

**I still feel very guilty about not updating. Sorry.**


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